Finding Us

18

Sage banged her head on the desk as the test papers were passed. She had forgotten about the math test because of her birthday party celebrations. A groan left Nash as he went through the test paper. "Well, I'm officially fucked."

"Me too..." Sage mumbled, rolling her lower lip into her mouth. She knew she had been ignoring her studies, but forgetting the tests was completely her fault. She looked at Aria, who was looking at her. "Just work on the problems, you know. It's a surprise test. No big deal." Sage gave a sad smile. But she knew surprise tests were a big deal. It would help them to understand how much knowledge they have in classes and how good preparation they have been making. Sage doesn't want to lie to herself.

With a sigh, she picked up the paper and went through the sums. They will be having their semi-finals soon. Sage doesn't want to fall back. She has to make it through high school if she is planning on getting a scholarship ride to college. A dread settled in her heart when she was able to solve only ten problems out of twenty questions. She cannot rely on her parents in college.

Once the class was done, she was the first one to leave as she needed to use the restroom. Aria's lips turned down when she saw her friends. Only Indigo seemed to have done well in the test.

"It was okay, I did better," Rhett murmured, wrapping his arm around Indigo's waist. Tariq made his way towards Aria. "Ugh, Indigo helped you with the practice sheet, didn't she?" Nash questioned and Rhett winked at him. "My girlfriend cares about my marks." Florie stayed quiet as she didn't do well on her test.

Tariq kissed Aria's cheek before smiling at the others. "You guys aren't going to have lunch?" Rhett and Indigo picked up their bags. "Let's go, I'm hungry." Everyone followed. Nash pulled his phone out and texted Sage. Sage groaned, washing her hands.

By the time she walked into the cafeteria, all the tables were occupied by seniors and juniors. Her friends were busy having food while Florie and Nash stood in line for food. Sage's gaze met Gideon, who had been watching her. A smirk started playing on Gideon's face when his gaze met Sage's. Sage raised her brow but didn't say anything, she walked to her usual table. Left her bag, "I will go and get lunch."

Sage stood in line and turned around when she felt someone. Gideon looked down at her. "Princess, what happened? You look so down." Sage ignored his words and turned away. Gideon frowned, not loving the fact that Sage had been ignoring him. "As much as I love to fight with you, not today." Gideon nodded his head. "Oh?"

"What? Didn't your test go well?" Sage hummed and the line moved. "Oh, it's okay I guess. You could do better in the next test on Wednesday." Sage looked at Gideon and gave a nod. "Yeah," Gideon smirked. "You know we could have study dates if you want." He whispered and Sage felt the goosebumps rising on her skin when Gideon gave a small kiss on her shoulder when none was looking at them.

"Study dates?" Gideon hummed. "Yeah, honestly, I need to work on my grades if I want to graduate high school with good marks. At least a B would work for me." Sage looked at Gideon. "What is your grade now?"

"C." Sage raised her brow but Gideon couldn't see that. "C? Didn't you do well in previous exams?" Gideon sighed, pushing his hands into his jeans pockets. "Yeah, I studied and did well but I don't know, I was only able to get a C. Maybe because my assignments weren't really good."

"Okay, we will check the time and decide on it. Florie has been asking for extra study dates."

"No, you already have study dates with her in the morning," Sage smiled, glancing at Nash and Florie, who was looking at them. "Yeah, we do, but we only study for two hours. Which isn't enough."

"Well, ask Florie to study with Nash in the evening or with Indigo or Aria. I do not want you to spend the evenings with someone else other than me." Sage froze but she didn't turn around to look at him nor did she reply to him. Gideon stopped in his tracks, he didn't mean to mention it. Sage had been ignoring him or so he felt it. They hadn't texted and Sage read his texts but didn't reply. He didn't know what went wrong or why Sage was ignoring him.

"Honey, usual?" Sage smiled at the lunch lady. "Yes, ma'am. But please add the buttermilk."

"Right, is that all?"

"Yes." Sage crossed her arms and completely ignored Gideon.

Aria smiled as Tariq showed her his family pictures. "Is this your mum?" Rhett asked, peeking at the screen. "Yes, they are my parents."

"Wow, they look young," Indigo commented. Tariq laughed, nodding his head. "They are yoga cults."

"Hey, yoga isn't a cult," Nash argued, walking towards the table. Tariq raised his hands in defence. "Calm down, bro. I was just saying." Sage shared a look with Gideon before walking back to the table. Florie had observed the exchange but didn't come on it.

*

Sage waited in her dormitory looking at the message Gideon had sent. She isn't sure if she is okay with spending time with Gideon. After the birthday party, she realised that she might be having real feelings for Gideon. And it is clear that Gideon doesn't want anything exclusive with her. He did mention that he doesn't do relationships.

She was okay with that in the beginning, but right now, she feels like she is going to end up hurting if she catches feelings for him. "Ugh." She pulled her hair into fists as she fell back on the bed. She was in bed for ten minutes before there were knocks on her door. She abruptly stood up from the bed and rushed towards the door. She knew it was Gideon and she didn't want anyone to catch them. Everyone knew everyone in this school and residential building.

She opened the door and Gideon stumbled inside as he was leaning against the door. "Woah, alright. All good." Sage closed the door and crossed her arms as she watched Gideon. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a black pullover with their football logo on it.

"Hey." Gideon waved his hand and smiled at Sage. He knew something was bugging Sage and he couldn't sit back in his room knowing something was wrong.

"Hi."

"Hmm, do you mind if I stay here for a while?" Sage shrugged her shoulders and went over to the bed. Gideon made sure that the door was locked before he took his seat beside Sage, leaving enough space between them. He doesn't want to crowd her space. They were silent for ten minutes before Gideon sighed.

"Sage, is something wrong? Did I do something that made you mad at me?"

"Uh― No. You didn't do anything." Sage pushed her hair away from her face. Looked at her phone when it pinged with a message.

"Then what is bugging your mind?" Gideon was careful and gentle.

Sage massaged her face. Knowing she is overthinking too much. "I don't know, I just felt a bit down. It's nothing to do with you. I'm just stressing." Gideon stayed quiet before standing up and holding his hand out to Sage. Sage looked at the hand and back at Gideon. "What?"

"Let's go for a run."

"Huh? Run at this time of hour?"

"Yeah, we have the whole ground to ourselves when everyone is busy in their rooms. It will help, trust me." Sage looked out of the window. It was around 12:20 am. Outside it is a bit chilly and she shivered at the thought of running. "No... No― I don't think that's a good idea."

"Dolci, trust me. When we are fucking up with our minds. Running truly helps and this is the perfect time." Gideon leaned on his knees to look at Sage in the eye. "I promise you, we will return the minute you don't want to run or feel uncomfortable."

Sage took her lower lip in between her teeth as she thought about it. 'Fuck it.' She muttered under her breath before taking Gideon's hand. A ghost of a smile wrapped on Gideon's face as he held Sage's hand in his. "Let's go, Dolci."